A Belgian waffle concept coming to City Foundry STL scored $300,000 from an investor on a recent episode of Shark Tank. The funds will help the company as it prepares to open one of its stores at the much-anticipated food hall.
Press Waffle Co. owners brothers Bryan and Caleb Lewis landed the deal on last Sunday's episode of the TV series after choosing to partner with Barbara Corcoran, an American businesswoman and real estate mogul who appears on the show. Corcoran offered the brothers $300,000 for 15 percent of their Dallas-based company, which was the amount they needed to franchise their restaurants on a national scale in cities including St. Louis.
Press Waffle Co. launched as a food truck in 2016 and opened its first storefront in late 2017. It now operates three company owned stores, with plans for more this year, including franchised units.
“We are so excited to expand into the St. Louis market, especially with an amazing project like the City Foundry Food Hall. Getting a deal on Shark Tank allows us to take advantage of unique opportunities that we otherwise would not have been able to pursue,” the Lewis brothers said in a statement.
Press Waffle Co. will join a slew of eateries at City Foundry STL, which is slated to open at the former Federal-Mogul foundry site in Midtown next year. The lineup is expected to include concepts from a number of local restaurants and food trucks including City Taco Shack (an Asian-Mexican fusion eatery from Kalbi Taco Shack owner Sue Wong-Shackelford), CropCircle (local country fare from Farmtruk owner and Brick River Cider exec chef Samantha Mitchell), Good Day (a breakfast spot from Polite Society and The Bellwether co-owners Jonathan Schoen and Brian Schmitz), and UKraft (a health-conscious eatery from UKraft food truck co-owners Matt and Mike Ratz), to name a few.
City Foundry STL was originally supposed to open this year, but then the timeframe and anticipated tenants changed. As of January, about half of the 30,000-square-foot space was leased and half of the food vendors secured. The food hall component is now scheduled to open in 2020.
